Public Consultation on the Future of Basic Income for the Arts

Image: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, via Facebook.

See press release from The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, published on 12 August 2025 at gov.ie here.

The Contemporary Music Centre welcomes news that the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan has opened a public consultation on the future of Basic Income for the Arts.

The Basic Income for Arts (BIA) pilot scheme was launched in 2022, supporting 2,000 artists and arts workers with €325 a week for a period of three years. The aim of the scheme was to support artists and arts workers to deal with the financial instability of working in the arts, and to prevent talent from leaving the sector for economic reasons. In June 2025, the Government agreed to an extension of the scheme to February 2026, for the purpose of collecting more data on the impact of the scheme, and allowing for further stakeholder engagement, with a view to designing a successor to the programme.

While research into the BIA scheme is ongoing, government reports so far show sustained, positive impact in the lives and careers of those in receipt of this payment:

This data shows that the BIA payment is having a consistent, positive impact across almost all indicators - affecting practice development, sectoral retention, well-being, and deprivation.

The grassroots advocacy group National Campaign for the Arts highlighted the continued hardships faced by artists and arts workers not in receipt of the payment, as evidenced by the Basic Income for Arts control group:

 In October 2023 over 50% of artists in the control group who were not getting Basic Income were struggling to afford basic things like food, clothes and heating where in the general population, it was 17%. 

Access all Government reports on the BIA scheme here.

The Contemporary Music Centre aims to support all artists working in New Music in Ireland to reach their artistic potential. We firmly support the continuation and expansion of the Basic Income for the Arts scheme to increase access to a sustainable and fulfillling career for those working in the arts in Ireland.

We encourage everyone to make their voices heard and participate in this consultation. 

The public consultation remains open until Friday 5th of September. Take part here.